Coming off a 16-5 regular season record and an illustrious New England Championship, Andover Baseball returns with potent power and strong leadership this season as it attempts to defend its title. “We have a lot of returning guys, and we have all been there before,” said Captain Seamus O’Neill ’13. “It allows us to know we have the ability and maturity to pull out games in the end” Andover finished last season with a three game win streak, all by means of walk off hits. “I think everyone involved with the team feels a certain degree of momentum carried over from last year, which manifested itself in a 7-0 record during our spring swing in Florida,” said Coach Kevin Graber. The team got an early start to its season over Spring Break in Florida, which proved to be a huge success and allowed Andover to build momentum heading into the season. “[Florida] is so key to get repetitions this early in the season, and to be able to have [seven] scrimmages in the warm weather gives us a huge advantage as we start our regular season games,” said Captain Rory Ziomek ’13. Andover proved its character and determination in the sunshine state as all of the work put in by the team throughout the offseason paid dividends in its games. “We had a great vibe on the diamond; everybody came ready to rock and showed a lot of enthusiasm,” said O’Neill. Through the first seven games, the returning players have provided a great leadership core. “Our captains and returners are a big reason for this,” said Graber. “Guys like Rory Ziomek, Seamus O’Neill and Harry Roche, and even our younger returners….know the expectations of the program and bring enthusiasm and work ethic every day.” “It’s great to see the younger guys following the lead of our older players and I think this will benefit us as we move forward,” said Ziomek. Pitching will be a huge component of Andover’s strength this year. Pitchers, such as Ziomek, who posted a 1.55 ERA last season, and Tim Salvadore ’15 with his 1.03 ERA, will anchor the core of pitchers with other returning lettermen in Matt Hosman ’15 and Thomas Lane ’15. “This year’s team boasts perhaps the deepest pitching staff we’ve ever had,” said Graber. Not only can Andover pitch, but it can hit as well, led by Chris Hohlstein ’14, who posted a .385 batting average, .754 slugging percentage and four home runs. “It’s safe to say we’re all looking forward to playing some official games in the coming weeks and defending our title” said O’Neill. “We have a lot of talent and a lot of work ethic. It’s a great group of guys, and I’m confident we’ll take another run at the championship” Andover baseball opens up its season this Saturday at home against Bridgton Academy. “I always tell the guys, if you can’t get excited to play Big Blue Baseball, you need your pulses checked. None of our guys needs their pulses checked,” said Graber.
